1. "To all of us, the outcome of conflict is uncertain whether it is interpersonal or legal, political or military, financial or religious. When conflict is deliberately begun, one party is trying to gain something and usually thinks they've got a pretty good chance of getting it. The other defending party is simply trying not to lose it."

2. "If John had just done that, if he had just given a little pinch of incense and said the few words 'Caesar is Lord,' then John's life wouldn't have been upended and he wouldn't have received this vision. He wouldn't have written it down, and we wouldn't be reading it and studying it right now. But John didn't give in. He did endure in faithfulness."

3. "Friends, who here among us has not faced some circumstances even in this last month, that does not tempt us to despair or surrender? And yet Jesus would give us reinforcements by means of the truth, showing us, explaining to us the larger meaning of what's happening in history, even in our daily lives."

4. "You never look back on sin with satisfaction. You never look back on resolve to follow Christ with regret."

5. "I was an agnostic. I know the instinct to question God. But friend, if that's your instinct today, can I just beg you to put a mirror up to yourself? And could I just encourage you to question yourself questioning God?"

6. "Friend, until you understand why it is appropriate for God to judge me eternally, I can't understand what Christ has done for me, how God has loved me in Christ."

7. "You can have a religious hobby or a habit for a little while, maybe when you're in grade school, maybe when you're a teenager, maybe when you're in college with some Christian friends or you move to a new place and you have a cool set of friends that you like, you can do that for a little while. But if you want to talk about being a Christian, that only happens by enduring, by continuing on."

8. "Friend, he went further into the territory of temptation, further than you or I have ever been or ever will go. Tempted to stop and give in to sin. Not persevere. He never did. He never gave in to sin. He never stopped the journey as you and I have done again and again."

9. "We Christians persevere in following Christ. We work and use our public influence to reduce persecutions for us and for others because we understand that everyone is made in the image of God. But when all is said and done, we Christians know that we will face persecution and therefore we will need to endure."

10. "If we all deserve to be punished by a good God for our sins, why is there this difference, this distinction? It's not because some of us did good and others did bad. Friend, do not find God in His wrath, but find him in Christ in his love."

Observation Questions

1. What do we learn about the identity of the 144,000 in Revelation 14:1-5? Note specifically what marks or identifiers are mentioned about them.

2. In Revelation 14:6-7, what specific message does the first angel proclaim, and to whom is this message directed?

3. According to Revelation 14:8, what specific announcement does the second angel make about Babylon? What metaphor is used to describe Babylon's influence?

4. Looking at Revelation 14:9-11, what are the consequences described for those who worship the beast and receive its mark?

5. In Revelation 14:14-16, what specific details are given about the one "like a son of man" and what does he do?

6. Examining Revelation 14:17-20, what imagery is used to describe God's judgment, and what specific measurements are given?

Interpretation Questions

1. Why is it significant that the 144,000 have both the Lamb's name and the Father's name written on their foreheads? How does this contrast with the mark of the beast mentioned in chapter 13?

2. What is the meaning of the statement that the 144,000 "have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins"? How does this relate to the broader themes of faithfulness in Revelation?

3. How do the two different harvests (14:14-16 and 14:17-20) differ from each other, and what might each represent in terms of God's final judgment?

4. Why does verse 12 specifically mention both "keeping the commandments of God" and maintaining "their faith in Jesus"? What does this tell us about the nature of true Christian endurance?

5. How does the proclamation "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on" (14:13) relate to the context of persecution and endurance in this chapter?

Application Questions

1. When was the last time you felt pressure to compromise your Christian beliefs or practices for social or professional acceptance? How did you respond, and what would you do differently now?

2. Think about your daily choices in entertainment, social media, and relationships. Where might you be allowing "Babylon" (worldly influences) to shape your values rather than Scripture?

3. The 144,000 are described as those who "follow the Lamb wherever he goes." In what specific area of your life do you find it most challenging to follow Christ completely?

4. Consider the angels' urgent messages in this chapter. What specific step do you need to take today to align your life more fully with God's truth rather than waiting for "someday"?

5. How can you practically support and encourage fellow believers who are facing persecution or opposition for their faith, whether locally or globally?

Additional Bible Reading

1. Isaiah 63:1-6 - This passage provides the Old Testament background for the winepress imagery used in Revelation 14:17-20, showing God's judgment against his enemies.

2. Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 - Jesus's parable of the wheat and weeds illustrates the final separation of the righteous and wicked, paralleling the two harvests in Revelation 14.

3. 1 Peter 4:12-19 - Peter's encouragement to believers facing persecution helps us understand how to endure suffering while maintaining faith in Christ, complementing Revelation's message of endurance.

4. 2 Timothy 2:1-13 - Paul's exhortation to Timothy provides practical guidance for enduring hardship as a Christian, emphasizing the themes of faithfulness and perseverance found in Revelation 14.

Sermon Main Topics

The Cosmic Conflict and God’s Sovereignty in Revelation

The Losers Win: The Victory of the Lamb and His Followers (Revelation 14:1-5)

Not Everyone Goes to Heaven: The Eternal Distinction Between the Righteous and the Wicked (Revelation 14:14-20)

Today Is Not Like Every Other Day: The Urgency of Endurance and Faithfulness (Revelation 14:6-13)

The Call to Persevere in Following Christ

---

Detailed Sermon Outline

To all of us, the outcome of conflict is uncertain, whether it is interpersonal or legal, political or military, financial or religious.

When conflict has deliberately begun, one party is trying to gain something and usually thinks they've got a pretty good chance of getting it. The other defending party is simply trying not to lose it.

The book of Revelation that we've been studying assumes the conflict that Christians were so familiar with in the late first century A.D. being persecuted by Rome for following a religion that to the Romans looked like no religion at all, looked like rank atheism. Did you ever think about that? The Christians had no temples. They had no statues of the gods they worshiped. They denied the gods others worshiped.

They had no sacrifices offered at altars. It was all just ideas in people's heads to the Romans, a very religious people. It seemed like atheism. And the Romans were constantly ascribing their fortune or their disaster to acts of divine intervention. And they were often explaining that as a response to some human act of devotion or act of desecration of one particular god.

And when the Roman emperor wanted to elevate himself to divine status, he would have coins minted that proclaimed his divine titles, and He would require oaths by people saying, Caesar is Lord while putting some little incense into a flame at an altar. That small act of public devotion would almost certainly save the threatened person from persecution, whether they were Christian or otherwise. It may well be that a simple act like that would have saved John.

All the trouble of deportation and exile and imprisonment in a cave on an island as if he were some kind of threat to the Roman rule of Ephesus. If John had just done that, if he had just given a little pinch of incense and said the few words, Caesar's Lord, then John's life wouldn't have been upended. And he wouldn't have received this vision. He wouldn't have written it down. And we wouldn't be reading it and studying it right now.

But John didn't give in. He did endure in faithfulness. And God did give John and Christians ever since John this vision. And God has given it to us so that we won't be surprised by what finally happens in this world and to us. Of course, God isn't surprised by anything.

We read in Proverbs 16:33, the lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. God also knows that part of how we face the trials and struggles of this life is by knowing the truth. By understanding our trials in light of what God is doing. And so in this book of Revelation, what's going on? Jesus is showing the kind of behind the scenes story to history.

He wants those churches He wrote to in the beginning of Revelation and other churches like ours through them to know so that we will not despair and not surrender.

Friends, who here among us has not faced some circumstances even in this last month, that does not tempt us to despair or surrender. And yet Jesus would give us reinforcements by means of the truth, showing us, explaining to us the larger meaning of what's happening in history, even in our daily lives. He wants us to understand what's going on around us in the most significant sense. Revelation has talked about the cosmic spiritual conflict that rages not just in the first century or in the final few years of this earth, but which rages around us right now, wherever we are exactly on the countdown to the end. Our text this morning is Revelation chapter 14.

You'll find it on page 1036 in the Bibles provided. If you're not used to being at a church where they preach the Bible, you will find yourself more able to pay attention over these next 30 minutes by just opening up your Bible to Revelation chapter 14 and just following along. 14 is the large number, verse numbers are the smaller numbers after it. Let's turn there now. Listen as I Read it to you.

Revelation chapter 14.

Then I looked and behold on Mount Zion stood the Lamb and with Him 144,000 who had His name and His Father's name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. And they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.

It is these who have not defiled themselves with women for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb. And in their mouth no lie was found for they are blameless. Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people.

And he said with a loud voice, Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.

Another angel, a second, followed saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.

And another angel, a third, followed them saying with a loud voice, if anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, He also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of His anger, and He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. And they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name. Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.

Blessed indeed, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them.

Then I looked and behold a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a Son of Man, with a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand.

And another angel came out of the temple calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, 'Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe. So he sat on the cloud, swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.

Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, 'Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe. So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden outside the city and blood flowed from the winepress as high as a horse's bridle.

For 1,600 stadia. Friends, I want to point out three surprising truths that we see in this chapter. In the first five verses, we see that the losers win. The people who you were sure by the end of chapter 13 had been decimated, many of them literally killed, the losers, as they appear to be, actually win.

Second one, not everyone goes to heaven. It's very clear in our passage, especially in verses 14 to 20, not everyone goes to heaven. And third, today is not like every other day.

That's how I want us to look at those middle verses, verses 6 to 13. Today is not like every other day. And I'll explain that. I pray that you will understand and receive every truth you need this morning, even the ones, especially the ones, that may be most surprising to you.

First, losers win.

So the reason I'm calling it that is if you look back at chapters 12 and 13, the last two chapters we've studied, just flip back there and notice what's going on. They described great conflict. You remember in chapter 12 we saw the vision with the woman giving birth and the dragon just there poised, waiting to devour the child. So the woman fled to a place prepared for her in the wilderness. And the rest of the chapter 12, it describes what it calls war in heaven.

Filled with expressions like fighting against and fighting back, and it speaks of the martyrdom of believers and of the devil's great wrath. The last paragraph in chapter 12 refers to the devil pursuing the people of God and making war over the woman's offspring.

Chapter 13.

Then it's as if this war in heaven, as it's described, has fallen to earth, and it describes two malevolent creatures, the most vicious sea beast and the false prophet, the land beast, both committed to serving the dragon rather than God. These are opponents of God's people, and they're very powerful. And his followers boasted of his power. The beast, it says, speaks proud and blasphemous words against God. And it becomes clear that many true Christians will be defeated in an earthly sense and even killed.

And that part of last week's message there in chapter 13 surprised some of you. That we have the promise of the defeat of Christians in an earthly sense on the pages of Scripture. In Revelation chapter 13. And you'll see it in more than one place where there's the idea that Christians in their faithfulness will be slain.

There the second beast, the land beast, was like a great wolf in sheep's clothing. It looked like a lamb but it sounded like a dragon. It wanted to own everyone and control their lives and it would be given great authority for a limited time.

So you can be forgiven for guessing that John would be pretty discouraged by the time these signs and sights were finished. But then you come to the beginning of chapter 14 and you find that all of this conflict does not diminish the confidence of these people who've been separated out by God's grace. Here in the first paragraph of chapter 14 where We may have expected to see the besieged and threatened people of God collapsing and giving up. Instead, we find the victory of the Lamb and His followers. It is not under threat.

It is not under threat. Jesus promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against His church. The conflict of chapters 12 and 13 has this very surprising resolution. This is not exactly what you expect after you've read what John was shown about this second formidable beast. Look again at the end of chapter 13, starting at verse 11.

It's almost like we're being set up for a different ending. Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb. And it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast whose mortal wound was healed.

It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people. And by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast, it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain.

Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave to be marked on the right hand or the forehead so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark that is the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom. Let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.

So it seems like God's people have been cut off, defeated, cornered, pushed out of the system. And yet who would guess that the next words we would read will be chapter 14, verse 1.

Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with Him 144,000 who had His name and His Father's name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from the heavens like the roar of many waters, like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing their harps, and they were singing a new song before the throne. And before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.

It is these who have not defiled themselves with women for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb and in their mouth no lie was found for they are blameless. Who are these 144,000? The Jehovah's Witnesses will have a very weird and false answer for you.

You can engage with them about the 144,000. There are speculations all over the place, but there are some things that are very clear. We've seen this number before in the book of Revelation. Turn back to chapter 7. I think this 144,000 is the same as the last 144,000.

Pretty straightforward claim there. Back in chapter 7, look there in verses 4 to 8, you have that paragraph. John says in chapter 7:4, and I heard the number of the sealed, and then he lists them off there in the next several verses.

Well, two things particularly to notice, I think. First, He says these were the sealed. He tells us who they are. These are the sealed, that is, the insured, the kept, the reserved, the ones who are set apart to not fall away, the ones who will make it. Which is why it's so interesting that several chapters of trials later, including lots of people being slain for not worshiping the beast, the number is exactly the same, undiminished.

It has not altered at all. Not one has been lost.

The other question people might have is these 144,000 then, is this like as opposed to 200,000 or a million? What is this 144,000 number? Well, if you look back in chapter 7, I think you see here going on the same thing that we saw in chapter 5. Look back in chapter 5. And this, I'll tell you, this one observation in Revelation chapter 5, verses 5 and 6 may be the key for you in the future better understanding the whole book of Revelation.

So if you want to write it down, if you're looking at your own copy of your Bible, at the beginning of Revelation, just write up above the word Revelation 5, 5 and 6. If you understand that, what's going on there, that'll be a great key to your understanding how you're supposed to read and understand the book. So look at a copy of God's Word, look at Revelation chapter 5, And in verse 5, what happens?

One of the elders said to me, 'Weep no more, behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, is conquered so that He can open the scroll of its seven seals.' so what had happened at this point, the scrolls had been brought out, these were the events of history that were going to happen, but they couldn't go forward because nobody could open them. And so people are weeping, they're, oh no! And here the elder announces, oh, the Lion can do it, the Lion is coming, the Lion will be able to open them. Okay, so who is this lion? Look at verse 6.

And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a lamb standing as though it had been slain, with seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Friends, John heard about the lion who could open up history. He sees when he looks at the lion, the lamb who was slain. Friends, he's not been misdirected. The lion is the lamb.

The lamb is the lion. The lamb is the one who will cause history to go forward because of His sacrifice of Himself for His people. He will bring God glory. He will establish God's righteousness and His mercy. He will be just and the justifier because of His work.

So the Lion of the tribe of Judah is in fact the Lamb who was slain.

So when you understand that, you see that that's very typical of the way John works in the Revelation. Well then we're not surprised over in chapter 7. Look in chapter 7. In verse 4, I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000. And then he lists them out, 12,000 from each of the tribes of Israel.

So this is saying it's going to be a completeness of all the people of God from every tribe, many which had been lost by then. All of them, 12 fullness, times a thousand, fullness still more, all of them together, 144,000, all entirety, completeness of the people of God. And you're thinking, really? Only 144,000? I mean, that's what John heard.

That's what was said. Ah, but then look. Verse 9, After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. ' Friends, these are the sealed. These are the ones sealed by the blood of Christ.

The 144,000 are the great multitude from every language and people and nation. So when we turn over back to our passage, chapter 14, the second thing we need to learn about these 144,000 is who they are. And they are this great multitude. From every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. These are the elect.

These are all the people who refused to worship the beast, but who did worship the Lamb. And yes, some of them would have been slain, but they were still victors, eternally and ultimately. The celebration of this great ultimate Lamb victory is wonderful. To meditate on. There are more aspects of it than we've got time to go into right now, but just look at that sweet phrase in verse 3.

No one could learn the song they sang except Christians.

Friend, if you're here today and you're not a Christian, we have non-Christians come to this church because they are fascinated by our congregational singing. They think, Where in America today do you see a bunch of people get together not being paid, just freely, to stand around and sing, even men, even young men. Sing, sing loudly, sing for a long time. And you can enjoy that, like I see some YouTubes you guys send me about Sacred Harp singing conventions, thank you, that is where we got Jobe 1925, one of you sending me that.

But for all the vocal enjoyment you may get out of that artistry, some kind of encouragement generally. I'm telling you, my friend, if you become a Christian and these words start resonating with your soul, you will appreciate singing the truth of it in a way you never can for all of your artistic appreciation or your concern for society being renewed. And look at this happy cooperative group of these people all together. That's good, that's not bad. But there is so much more going on.

Oh, when we sing that third stanza, it is well, my sins not in part, but the whole have been paid. Oh, you can tell this congregation has saved people. Because nobody's coaching them, it's good to look cheerful here. You're singing about the resurrection, so put your hand up. You know, no, it's heart's full.

The redeemed who've known God's forgiving love in Christ. That's why we sing like we do. And I love that reflected here in verse 3, those purchased by the blood of the Lamb, God's only Son. John Calvin said, the grace of God has no charms for men, till the Holy Spirit gives them a taste for it. Verses 4 and 5 give an interesting description of Christians.

They are faithful. They do not defile themselves with women. So how do you know this is not talking about literal virginity. Well, because the Bible nowhere commends literal virginity like this. And you just had the beast represented as a center of adultery.

You see in the Old Testament prophets, idolatry and adultery are put together. The language is mixed because idolatry is a spiritual unfaithfulness to God. And so that language is constantly standing in Scripture for, depending on the context, I mean real literal adultery is talked about often in Scripture. But in this kind of context, everything about this is allegiance to the Lamb versus allegiance to the beast, or the dragon ultimately. And here he's talking about the people who have not been unfaithful and followed the false Lord, but they are the ones who have followed the Lamb alone.

Or the disciples. In fact, I love that phrase in verse 4. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. What a description of Christians. Follow the Lamb wherever He goes.

Where did the Lord Jesus go? Well, He bowed His head to humiliation and suffering. Has your following of Jesus Christ led you there? So many of his followers have found their lives marked not by constant prosperity, but by the same kind of rejection and suffering that the Lamb himself knew in his incarnation. And if the Master is so treated, can we be surprised if his followers are as well?

Here John writes about those who've been redeemed. They were purchased from among men. Their sinful speech has been atoned for. By the death of the righteous Son of God, and to their credit, it's been accounted the Lord Jesus' lifetime of pure and perfect speech, always honoring God, always loving Him and others. They're called here the firstfruits of God and the Lamb.

That is, the point is not so much chronological priority, that would raise some other issues, but it's the particularity of their ownership. They particularly as opposed to the beast worshipers. These particularly belong to God and the Lamb. They have a certain orientation in their speech and action, in their lives and drives and desires. They live their lives for and to God and the Lamb.

So my Christian brother and sister, I wonder, is that a good description of your life? Do you live your life for and to God and the Lamb?

And to God and the Lamb. Are you living for somebody? Bob Dylan's song said, you,'ve got to serve somebody. It's true. Surveying your own life, who is it that you are serving?

Is there anything that you elevate to the level of God in your life's loyalty and devotion?

It doesn't take things that are bad to be rivals to God. Indeed, sometimes it's the very best things that can be rivals to the absolute best.

When I got engaged to Connie, Robert Kline's mom told me on the phone, you, know, Mark, the church can be a mistress. I understand what she means. I've got to love you guys less than my wife. I've got to prize faithfulness to her, service to her, over service to you. That's part of my loving the Lord.

That's part of my doing what He has called me to do. So in your life, you can take very good things and abuse them. So what are you devoted to?

You devoted to your health? Well, that's good in some ways. But have you ever been devoted to your health more than to the Lord? They say, if you don't have your health, you don't have anything. Do you find yourself willing to sacrifice your health for your health in a way that's different than you're willing to sacrifice in your service to God?

Or what about your family? Surely being devoted to your parents, being devoted to your marriage, being devoted to your children is a good and godly thing. Okay, here's a question to discuss at lunch. Is it possible to be devoted too much to them? Is that a temptation in your own life?

If it were, what would it look like?

Or your job, your ambitions.

Do either of these ever compete with your devotion to the Lord with His people, His purposes? Do you do things you shouldn't in order to prioritize education or resume building or popularity? This chapter is filled with contrasting pairs. I don't know if you noticed that when I read it. If your mind begins to wander during the service, let me just encourage you to start finding them, mark them down.

If you are 10 years old here today, see if you can find 10 contrasting pairs. They're there. There are 10 contrasting pairs in this chapter. See if you can find them and identify them and bring them up over lunch today.

Mom and Dad will do something special for you. The contrasting pair that is relevant for us right now is the one in that phrase in verse 1 who had his name and his father's name written on their foreheads. And that's as opposed to the contrasting pair down in verse 11 of those who'd received the mark of the beast. So the way John is being shown this, you're going to have either the Father's name on your forehead, you're going to belong to Him or you're going to have the beast's name. There's just no other parties.

You're going to have one or the other that owns you. And though it looked like by the end of chapter 13 that those who were marked by the name of the Lord were marginalized and kind of forced to walk the plank, here we see that they end up celebrating the victory of the Lamb. Those who looked like they'd lost actually won, and they celebrate. The crucified Lord was resurrected, and if we are His, we will be resurrected ultimately too. He is the firstfruits we follow along in the same manner.

Even if in this life we have been killed for following Christ. The apparent losers win.

Second surprising truth in our passage, not everyone goes to heaven. And I say surprising because today everybody seems to assume that because we're made by God, we're made in His image, we are therefore somehow owed, or can expect that the same One who has created us will make sure that we are okay. But it seems like God has something else going on in history. We know that this division that we see here in the last paragraph of this chapter is coming. This chapter presents the followers of the Lamb as we've been considering, purchased by His blood, redeemed from the earth, while the earth is about to be judged.

And in this final section of chapter 14, we see what the difference is. These two groups of people will have eternally separate ends. Those in the first harvest done by the Son of Man will know rest, while those depicted here as being gathered by the angel with his sickle in verse 19 will know wrath. Did you notice those two different harvests going on? Look again, beginning at verse 14.

So what I'm suggesting is that verses 14 to 16 are one harvest and verses 17 to 20 another. So again, if you're looking at your own Bible, just draw a little line between 16 and 17 so you'll just be reminded of that division. Once you see it, I think you're going to see it. Verse 14, Then I looked and behold a white cloud and seated on the cloud one like a Son of Man with a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His in his hand, and another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, 'Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.' so he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth and the earth was reaped. So much to say there.

What is the angel doing telling the Son of Man what to do? He's not commanding him in that sense. He's coming from the temple. He's giving the plan of God He's uttering the plan of God, the voice of God, and the Son of Man agrees. He knows that.

He takes up His role. He harvests. And, you know, this image of us as sheaves of wheat, bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves, we shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves. Anyway, it's an old hymn that some of us my age and older will know. But there are lots of images of Christians as sheaves as as wheat, as that be gathered in at the end of a harvest.

You'll see Jesus using this image as well. It's a positive image. One of the work of the farmer completed. It's the culmination of the labors. It's the successful climax.

It's why we have celebrations of Thanksgiving, harvest time. So this is a dramatic moment in verse 16 when the sheaves are brought in. When the sickle is finally swung and the earth is finally harvested. And for all its similarities, verses 17 to 20 couldn't be more different. Because in 17 to 20 here is the grape harvest.

We're not told what harvest is there in that first one. It's easiest to speak of this as sort of a grain harvest, but it's not mentioned grapes. The second one is used to the image of grapes, I assume, because we have the image elsewhere, like Isaiah 63.

Of the winepress of God's wrath, the grapes of God's wrath.

So here in verses 17 to 20, you look down and what do you see? You see this reaping represented the final judgment of the wicked with verses 19 and 20 giving us a very graphic picture of God's wrath. Friends, the language here, both in the middle and the end of this chapter, is so graphic about the wrath of God. But I just want to pause and make five observations about this wrath. And I'm not going to take long on this.

So if you're going to note them down, you're going to have to note them down. They're each one word. Shouldn't be hard. And there are more we could get from this. But because this is such a hard topic for Christians to think about, I just want to point some things out here that I think God's Word is clearly teaching us.

First, God's wrath is personal. It's personal.

Long theological debate in the 20th century about could we refer to this as some impersonal Law of the universe so God wouldn't be seen as petty. It wouldn't be so personal. The C.H. Dot of Cambridge actually pushed this. And this is why the RSV was a bad translation because it wouldn't use propitiation, which implies wrath.

It used the word expiation. Long history of this. Basically, God's wrath in the Bible is represented as personal. There's no way around it. It comes from him, from his very character, from what he is like.

God Himself is good and He is personally opposed to all that is evil. It is clear that this is the wrath of God. It pertains to Him. It's the expression of His own personal sense of goodness and justice. It's personal.

Number two, it's also certain. We see that here because none escape. Friends, the size of the vat holding the blood that flowed is roughly the size of the whole nation of Israel. All the blood stands for the completeness of the judgment. The whole world, all the wicked.

Verse 9, he says, Anyone worshiping the beast will drink of the wine of God's wrath. No one who deserves punishment is left out of it. So God's wrath is personal, it is certain. Second thing, certain. Third thing, final.

God's wrath is final. There's no appeal. You see that verse 11, the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever.

God's wrath is final, it is eternal. And four, God's wrath is horrible. You won't improve people's understanding of God, you won't make them more sympathetic to the truth if you somehow figure out a way to make God's wrath sound less horrible. Why? Why would you want to make God's wrath seem less horrible?

What is there to gain in that? The horror of this is conveyed by the fact that it's fire. And then in verse 19 and 20, the image of the winepress. We could find other ways in which here or even Scripture itself elsewhere talks about God's wrath as a horrible thing. Horrible, not meaning morally doubtful or wrong.

Horrible meaning our reaction to it is just, it is horrific. Fifth thing, last thing I'll observe about it, it is right.

God's wrath is right. It's not morally questionable. That's the significance of the statement in verse 10, that this is done in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb. There's nothing to be ashamed of. There's nothing to distance ourselves from.

There's nothing to be reticent about. We don't need deniability.

God's not concerned He'll get wrongly landed with blame for hell. No, He understands that hell, as Spurgeon put it in one sermon, represents the deep bass notes of His praise as the goodness and righteousness of His reign is confirmed. Treating such a great and good figure as God, as rebelling sinners have done, demands such wrath.

I was an agnostic. I know the instinct to question God. But friend, if that's your instinct today, can I just beg you to put a mirror up to yourself? And can I just encourage you to question yourself, questioning God?

Are you in a moral position to look down on God or to see things better than Him? I'm not trying to say you can't have real and genuine questions from where you're standing. All of us can with our imperfect knowledge in this world. But to conclude that God has somehow been wrong, particularly about an eternal matter, is a confidence that I would discourage you from having in some appropriate humility of your own lack of knowledge and maybe a sense of your own moral barometer being a little off.

Two of our church's 18 articles in our Statement of Faith are given to declaring this truth that not everyone goes to heaven. The friends who first met here on this corner in 1878 baked it into our church and we've never taken it out. The last two articles, it's the last one-ninth of our statement of faith. Article 17 of the Righteous and the Wicked. We believe that there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked.

That such only as through faith are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and sanctified by the Spirit of our God are truly righteous in His esteem. While all such as continue in impenitence and unbelief are in his sight wicked and under the curse. And this distinction holds among men both in and after death. And then Article 18 of the World to Come. We believe that the end of the world is approaching, that at the last day Christ will descend from heaven and raise the dead from the grave to final retribution, that a solemn separation will then take place, that the wicked will be adjudged to endless punishment, and the righteous to endless joy, and that this judgment will fix forever the final state of men in heaven or hell on principles of righteousness.

Now when you look elsewhere in the Statement of Faith, you'll see they're very clear that righteousness is not our own righteousness. It's the righteousness of Christ applied to believers by faith. Brothers and sisters, we should prepare to overcome whatever persecution we may face in part by being confident of this coming distinction. It will matter how we spend our lives. It will matter because of this distinction between the object of redemption and the objects of wrath.

Up in the middle paragraph, there's verses 6 to 13, you see these heavenly messengers proclaiming the imminent judgment of the world. Verse 6, he calls it an eternal gospel. And people say, All this about judgment doesn't sound much like a gospel. Oh, friends, if you've ever suffered wrong, knowing that the truth will be told about it and things put right is very much part of the good news. The gospel of God's good and right judgment is an essential part of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And then we come to that declaration there in verse 7, that the hour of His judgment has come. And so all were called to worship Him who made the heavens, in contrast to up in chapter 13 where they were being called to worship the beast or even just the image of the beast.

Babylon in verse 8 just stands for the prideful opposition of man to God in the New Testament. It's talking about Rome and all of the world system opposed to God. And again, here you have this idea of adulteries in verse 8, just like in verse 4, this sexual image being used to represent, yeah, it can certainly include physical adultery, but it's including all of the rebellion against God by allegiance to another. Another Lord. And then in this last paragraph, 14 to 20, we see the account of the world being judged with 14 to 16, the harvesting of the earth, and the dramatic moment where all of history has been leading to, when the sickle is finally swung and the earth is finally harvested.

Christ calls His elect home. And then in the last four verses where the wicked are reaped and judged, concluding with this graphic picture in verses 19 and 20 of the produce of God's wrath. The blood standing for the complete judgment of the whole world, the destruction of the wicked.

Friend, do you understand why God should punish you like this?

I think until you understand that, you cannot understand the measure of God's love for you in Christ.

Until you understand why it is appropriate For God to judge me eternally, I can't understand what Christ has done for me, how God has loved me in Christ.

We try to understand God's love for us more and more, even as we look around the church, as we get to know others, as we hear how this one and that one together have persevered in the midst of the world, even a persecuting world. We see a preview of the distinction that God will one day make forever between the objects of his wrath and the objects of his love. Do you see how we foreshadow it here? Every Sunday we have a baptism. We're showing a distinction between the life the person had before and the life they have now.

We're showing a distinction when we have the Lord's Supper, those who partake, those who don't. We're showing a distinction in the membership of the church, those who are regularly encouraged to take the Lord's Supper here, those who are not. We show it in the practice of church discipline when someone who shows that they're actually living for another Lord, not Jesus Christ, are excluded from membership in the church. In all of these ways we are previewing this separation. Knowing that not everyone will go to heaven may surprise some, but it will also help to supply us with an understanding that will help us do what this passage calls us to do, which is endure, which is the last thing I want us to notice, this surprising truth.

And the way I'm expressing it is just saying that today is not like every other day. What I mean by that is you and I need repentance that lasts because a day of a big division is coming. We need to get on the right side of history, and we should do that today. To use old-fashioned language, the wrath of God is coming. Flee the wrath of God.

We don't know that tomorrow will come. For the world entirely, for the city of Washington, D.C., or for you personally. You have today, and that's I think the force behind the exhortation that we're given here in the middle of this vision. Look again at our chapter 14, beginning at verse 6. Hear the message of these three angels and then hear the call.

Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth. To every nation and tribe and language and people. And He said with a loud voice, so He's up in mid-air so everybody can see, loud voice so everybody can hear, Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.

Another angel, a second, followed saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great. She who made all nations drink the wine of the passion. Of her sexual immorality. So there's been an exhortation to worship the true God. There's been an exhortation to, Hey, the false one's fallen.

Don't even bother putting your investment there. And now third, another angel, verse 9, a third, followed them saying with a loud voice, if anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on the hand, he also will drink the wine of God's wrath poured full strength into the cup of his anger. And He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever. And they have no rest, day or night.

These worshipers of the beast and his image and whoever receives the mark of his name. And then John, he's been telling us all these visions, and this is one of these very few places in the book of Revelation where he turns and he kind of looks into the camera. He looks at us directly. We trust in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and he says, verse 12, Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.

Blessed indeed, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them.

Friends, there will be an eternal difference, and this shows us that this is a separating message. We have no guarantee that we will have even one more day to decide what side we're on. So these verses form a warning for those who've not yet begun the race of faith. It may end before they even begin. And so for those who've already begun, it's a call for endurance.

Ours is a marathon. Not a sprint, and the marathons are won at the end. In this middle portion of our chapter, we see verses 6 to 11 proclaim the coming judgment, verses 12 to 13 that call for saints to endure. The three angels who proclaim the imminent judgment of the world, the first brings the eternal gospel. The second in verse 7 speaks loudly so everybody can hear him.

And the third, verse 8, lets us know it's spiritual go time. Babylon, the privy expression of opposition to God has fallen. We've considered the eternal torment described in verses 10 and 11. Forsaking Christ in order to worship the beast, like it looked like people were doing in chapter 13 at the end, would not be easier. It's always the way with sin, isn't it?

It sells itself to you by promising, oh, this is the better way.

This is the easier way. Has sin ever told you the truth?

You never look back on sin with satisfaction.

You never look back on resolve to follow Christ with regret. Believers resist the allure of Babylon. Don't give in. I'm struck here in verse 10 considering this cup. This is the image of the cup of God's wrath, a cup of our sins and disobediences that have filled and stirred that cup, which call for it to be put to our lips personally because we've filled it up.

But of course, this is the cup that Christ drank for all of us who are believers. He drank the cup of God's wrath that we have filled. And then here in verse 12 is really a summary call for Christians to endure and continue in faithfulness. For such people, verse 13 says, death itself is blessed. I love Psalm 116 verse 15, Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.

God cares about His saints to the very end. This vision illustrates so much of what had already been taught among Christians in the first century. It was illustrating what Jesus said in John 15, if they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also. It illustrates what Paul said in 2 Timothy 3, Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. So brothers and sisters, if this is the case, what should our response be?

It's what we're called to right here. We must endure. We must persevere. There's no other alternative for us being a follower of the Lamb in a fallen world. Remember up in the previous chapter, chapter 13, verse 10, Here is the endurance and faith of the saints.

So here now in verse 12, Here is a call for endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. Friend, you cannot follow Jesus.

Without persevering. You can have a religious hobby or a habit for a little while. Maybe when you're in grade school, maybe when you're a teenager, maybe when you're in college with some Christian friends, or you move to a new place and you have a cool set of friends that you like. You can do that for a little while. But if you want to talk about being a Christian, that only happens by enduring, by continuing on.

Friend, if you're here and you're not a Christian, you actually know a lot of what I'm talking about. You persevere, you endure, you see things through to their end, you see a pregnancy through to its end, you work hard to pass an exam, you work to get this job or take care of that health problem.

Friend, whatever it is you're regularly spending energy for, that's a little picture of what we Christians are called to, only for a much greater end. And that's what you are also called to in the gospel. You can leave your current, not as good ends, and get the best end there ever was. Your Creator who made you, and He made you specifically in His image so that you could know Him. That's why you're alive, to know Him.

You can do that by trusting in Christ. He died on the cross specifically as a sacrifice taking the place for all of our sins and missteps, those things that we have done that are wrong and against Him. You can be forgiven for all of your sins if you will truly trust in Christ. If you want to know more about what this means, just talk to any of the pastors on the way out. If you came with somebody who's a member here, talk to them.

This room is full of hundreds of people who have done exactly this. We Christians persevere in following Christ. We work and use our public influence to reduce persecutions for us and for others because we understand that everyone is made in the image of God. But when all is said and done, we Christians know that we will face persecution and therefore we will need to endure. Of course, Christ persevered.

Christ endured trials and temptations more than any of us have. Hebrews 4:15 tells us He was tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin.

Friend, he went further into the territory of temptation, further than you or I have ever been or ever will go. Tempted to stop and give in to sin, not persevere, he never did. He never gave in to sin. He never stopped the journey as you and I have done again and again. We only go so far into temptation and we give up.

Christ never gave up. He knows temptation like you and I can't even imagine it. Brothers and sisters, how do you remain faithful to Jesus in your workplace, in your friendships?

If we could see your life these last few weeks with your comments, what situations were you enduring through as part of your following Jesus? Can I just say there are some of you who figured out that you can tell me how you're doing that without that being bragging? And that encourages me. I'm instructed. I'm encouraged in my own following Christ.

When you will share a story of how something's been hard for you, maybe something at church, maybe a relationship, maybe something that you're still uncertain about in some ways, but you know what it means to follow Christ at work or at school or with your friends or in this situation, means this. We are given life when we hear about that.

Whether it's a struggle with health, a struggle at a workplace, a struggle with a relationship, share with each other how you are enduring for the sake of Christ. Because, friends, the Christian life isn't easy, but knowing God is worth the hardness. It is worth all of it. And it's the realistic assessment of that difficulty that should encourage us to cultivate the joy of following Christ, so that we will be able to endure, so that we will be able to persevere. That's why we pray for each other.

That's why we try to help each other, bear each other's burdens and sorrows. This is a call to persevere for us as a congregation. We should pray for each other, because we know for us and for those we pray for, like we did this morning, we prayed for Christians in India, some of whom we know who are being forced to not meet together. There are Christians all around the world in Vietnam, in China, in Iran, Christians here in our own land who are not being allowed because of pressure from their family, their friends, sometimes more than that, to serve Christ straightforwardly. Friends, the Christian life is not over when it's begun.

By God's grace and with His strength, we must persevere and we must do that today. This is the emphasis on this day being unique because we don't know if we will ever be given another day. That's why Paul says in 2 Corinthians 62, Now is the day of salvation.

The cost of this of following Christ and the necessity of counting the cost doesn't make the decision to follow Christ any less Urgent. Today is not like every other day. It is unique. Maybe a final opportunity to obey, to trust, to endure.

We should conclude. These are our three surprising truths from this chapter. Losers win. You see there, the beginning of chapter 14. Not everyone goes to heaven.

You see that in the middle and at the end, this bifurcation. This division. And today is not like every other day. The message comes that this time will end. What a contrast our chapter presents between those who die at odds with God under His wrath and those who die in Him, as he puts it in verse 13.

For those outside, we read in verse 11, the harrowing words, they have no rest, day or night. Think about it.

Oh, forever no rest.

But for those who are in the Lord Jesus when their journey ends, even though they may be killed for being Christians. Look at what we find in verse 13, that they may rest from their labors. If we all deserve to be punished by a good God for our sins, why is there this difference, this distinction? It's not because some of us did good and others did bad. We've already covered that.

If you want to think about that more, go back to our studies from the fall in Romans 4. Romans 4 talks about that a lot. Now why this different outcome? It's because some continue to live not acknowledging Christ.

And not worshiping God, while others of us worship Christ who drank this cup of God's wrath. Here from verse 10, Christ drank the cup of God's wrath to the dregs for all who would ever believe in Him. Friend, do not find God in His wrath, but find Him in Christ, in His love. If you do, the promise of the sweet rest you will have in Him forever will well prepare you for whatever storms you may be called to weather for a short time here below. And so you will be able to keep the commandments of God and faith in Jesus so you will be able to endure.

Let's pray together.

Lord God, we thank you for your sovereignty over our circumstances, even our trials.

We give you praise as a good and holy God. And as a God who has shown almost unbelievable mercy to us extended in Christ. Pray, Lord, that you would help us to believe and having believed to endure every day of life you give us. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.